Quantum Conundrum's Familiar Quirk

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Bottling lightning a second time.

By Mitch Dyer

The PAX debut of Quantum Conundrum showed off some new creative juices from Kim Swift, one of the folks responsible for Portal's brilliant mechanics. Now, having seen the puzzle/platformer in its latest state, Quantum Conundrum shows what Swift learned from, and is capable of doing without Valve.

The normal dimension...

If you're unfamiliar with Quantum Conundrum, switching between dimensions allows you to change the physical state of the environment and the items within it. Heavy items can be lightened, flimsy objects can be hardened, and time can slow to a crawl around you. The combination of these powers facilitates some brilliant brain-teasers and some frustrating first-person platforming.

In one of the new demo's puzzles, time shifted from normal speed to slow in a predictable pattern. This allowed me to hop on floating objects, wait for time to correct itself, and go flying through the air. The inability to see your feet or shadow makes it tough to get a read on where you're landing, though. I fell off floating, flinging chairs (yes, this game is proper silly) for reasons still unknown, and I did it dozens of times.

...and the fluffy world. Notice the painting.

This brief instance of agitation toward Quantum Conundrum pales in comparison to the rest of its smart design and delightful aesthetic. The world's look changes based on whatever power is currently active, and it's reflected in the art on the walls and the look of the items you touch. Basic black safes become rounded and fluffy in the light dimension, and gnarly and sharp when they're heavier. With each dimension serving a separate purpose, the potential to combine your shifting abilities for complex puzzles is enormous. Even the basic stuff had me stumped – building a set of stairs with a laser and stacks of crates was a real test of my mental fortitude.

The eccentric scientist booming through speakers throughout the mansion setting has GLaDOS written all over him, and while it's a bit of a cop-out on the developer's part to fall back on the familiar, he's a different kind of crazy. He's a fun guy to listen to, and his playful one-sided banter with the player character is amusing and encouraging.

Quantum Conundrum is as exciting as XBLA games get, and it's built with Portal fans in mind. Look forward to smashing glass and blocking laser beams with heavy, slowed-down boxes later this year.